A Pacific Northwest city project could make the local area much quieter. It recently did pass key approval steps. Moreover, the local city is looking to make improvements at 10 railroad crossing between specific streets in the area.

Pacific Northwest Construction is Pending

Moreover, the city staff is waiting on a crossing order. It will give the official green light to start the construction. Yet it does have the ok on designs from Union Pacific Railroad and the Oregon Department of Transportation as well as the initial approval from the state agency.

Railroad Quiet Zone

The principal engineer for the city is Katie Marwitz. She said it’s a “big step” in progress toward getting a railroad quiet zone in place. The city estimates the sound from routine crossing horns would, in fact, significantly decrease. That is once the quiet zone is put in place.

Description of a Quiet Zone

Engineers are required to sound the train horn 15 to 20 seconds before at-grade crossings under the Federal Trail Rule. This is according to the Federal Railroad Administratration.

According to a city presentation, around two dozen trains pass through Downtown Eugene each day. In fact, it’s many ear-splitting blasts every day.

Mitigate Train Horn Noise

Moreover, the federal rule also does give local government the chance to mitigate the effects of train horn noise. It would be by establishing quiet zones.

There were more than 950 quiet zones across the county as of July 14th. This is according to the FRA. Moreover, it would include 15 in Oregon.

The engineers don’t sound the horn unless there is an emergency, or they have to, in order, to follow, moreover, other federal regulations or railroad operating rules.

Pacific Northwest City: Sounding the Horn

Moreover, there is still specific situations where the engineers do have to sound the horn. However, there are safety improvements that do allow for implementation of safety zones. In fact, they can remove the requirement under the Trail Rule.